How WATCHMAN Works: Dr. Srinivas Iyengar, Patient Testimonials

Nov 26, 2018Posted By:
Boulder Community Health

Wondering if a WATCHMAN device may be an option to reduce your atrial-fibrillation-related
stroke risk? Learn how WATCHMAN works, and who qualifies for it, from
Boulder Heart cardiologist Srinivas Iyengar, MD. "I am so relieved now, knowing
everything is under control," says recent patient Eloise St. Jean
in her testimonial in the video below. To learn more and schedule an assessment,
call 303-415-8898.

Video transcript:
“My name is
Dr. Srinivas Iyengar. I'm the Structural Heart director here at Boulder Community Health
(BCH). Today I'd like to talk about some of the cutting-edge innovative
procedures we're currently doing here in Boulder, Colorado.

One of them is called the
WATCHMAN procedure. This is a procedure for patients who have a history of atrial
fibrillation and elevated risk of stroke and who cannot tolerate long-term
blood-thinning medication.

When blood swirls it can coagulate, or thicken. There is one part of the
heart call the left atrial appendage. When blood coagulates, it can stay
into that area and actually form a clot. In patients with atrial fibrillation,
there might be a chance a clot can break off and go to the brain and cause
a stroke.”

“I had a couple of episodes of AFib. I get real sweaty I get real
dizzy,” says recent WATCHMAN patient Rickie Hall.

“The standard of care for patients who have atrial fibrillation and
an elevated risk of stroke should be blood thinners,” says Dr. Iyengar.

“I always had to take Coumadin, or warfarin or … they tried
everything,” says Eloise St. Jean, another patient who recently
had the WATCHMAN device implanted at Boulder Community Health’s
Foothills Hospital.

“Unfortunately, she could not tolerate her blood-thinning medication.
She had numerous side effects including excessive bleeding,” says
Dr. Iyengar. “They couldn't get it stopped,” St. Jean
says. St. Jean’s age also meant she had an elevated risk for stroke,
Dr. Iyengar added.

“WATCHMAN is an amazing alternative for patients who cannot take
blood-thinning medication. Currently in Boulder County, Boulder Community
Health is the only medical institution performing this procedure. The
WATCHMAN procedure is a minimally invasive procedure where we deliver
a device on a catheter through the vein in the groin come up to the heart
and place the WATCHMAN into the appendage, where it sits permanently and
actually prevents any blood from getting into the appendage or coming
out, thereby preventing a stroke from happening,” Dr. Iyengar says.

“This procedure typically takes 20 to 30 minutes, is minimally invasive
and patients are generally discharged within
24 hours the procedure,” he says.

“The recovery was really, really easy,” says Hall. “I
didn't even know it was done,” says St. Jean. It is the simplest
thing I have ever been through.”

“Commercial insurance, Medicare, most of these entities cover WATCHMAN
procedures. More important, we can get you off the blood-thinning medication
and we can prevent a stroke from happening in the future,” says
Dr. Iyengar.

“Having this procedure made me less worried about having an episode
of AFib or having a stroke,” says Hall. “I would tell anybody
who has this kind of an episode or any kind of a heart episode where the
WATCHMAN would be a good fit for them, that Dr. Iyengar and Boulder Community
Health is a wonderful place to go.”

“I am so relieved now to know that everything is under control,”
says St. Jean. “Getting WATCHMAN has been fabulous. I feel like
there's a WATCHMAN watching after me.”

If you’d like to learn more about WATCHMAN and whether it may be
right for you, please call our program coordinator today at 303-415-8898
to schedule an appointment for a screening.